Convergence journalism isn't a debate, it's a reality

       After reading both articles, I found myself thinking about Convergence Journalism in ways I never have before. Jane made some great points about "backpack journalism" in an article written in 2002. It's 2007 and a lot of the things that she predicted are now in full swing, with almost all news outlets today having some form of a multimedia website. 

Since most of the content in Jane's article paralleled my thinking on the subject, Martha's article got me thinking more about backpack journalism. As all who've read these articles probably know, Martha doesn't see convergence journalism as a positive thing. Martha believes that this type of journalism will only create more mediocrity because of the multitasking involved. For a minute, I thought she made a good point. So I started to think about how this problem of "mediocrity" could be avoided. The answer I found, lies in the current convergence journalism curriculum at Mizzou. By making the student choose a sub-concentration within the Convergence school, it eliminates the problem of "jack of all trades, master of nothing." With the current layout, students can be proficient in most trades, and be a master of one.